Rainn Wilson Is Ready to Rock

"I thought Twisted Sister, Mötley Crüe were just an absolute joke: those prancing guys, with full makeup, more women's clothing than my Aunt Marylou. I thought it was preposterous," he says. "But now going back, I definitely gained an appreciation for what they were trying to do. Which is just kind of put on a great show and just rock out and have a great time."

He definitely gained a sense of the physical aspect of what it meant to be an '80's rocker. Wilson was dripping and pants-less much of the time, with a rat licking peanut butter off his face at one point. "I think that's what I'll always remember about 'The Rocker,' is being sweaty and sticky," he says. "I certainly stuck to a lot of drum stools."

Even in the movie poster, a surprisingly lithe Wilson appears in nothing more than a Speedo and cowboy belt. "You know what? I'm gonna tell you something. They did not alter that poster one bit. I saw the poster and I called them. I'm like, 'Did you thin me down?' "

But no, he'd been working out with a trainer just before the photo was shot: "Believe it or not," he says, "that's all me, baby."

Time will tell whether Wilson fares better than Schwimmer in his first leading role in a film. But even as he returns to "The Office" set, he's working on a screenplay with "Juno" director Jason Reitman.

Tentatively called "Bonsai Shadowhands," it's the story of a "down-and-out alcoholic ninja who lives in the San Fernando Valley," he explains. "And I used to take shorin karate, and I used to live in the valley. And I've certainly known some escapades with alcohol. So, put it in a crockpot and, uh, instant classic.

"It's gonna be the 'Citizen Kane' of alcoholic ninja movies."

Dwight Schrute, for one, would love that.